File name TV Transmitter.pdfSE
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TV
Transmitter
Use it to rebroadcast video signals throughout your house. BY MARC SPIWAK
One of the most useful gadgets a video enthusiast can have is a low-power TV Transmitter. Such a device can transmit a signal from a VCR to any TV in a home or backyard. Imagine the convenience of being able to sit by the pool watching your favorite movie on a portable with a tape or laserdisc playing indoors. You could even retransmit cable TV for your own private viewing. Videotapes can be dubbed from
POPtronix TV Transmitter
one VCR to another without a cable connecting the two machines together. When connected to a video camera, a TV transmitter can be used in surveillance for monitoring a particular location. The main problem a video enthusiast has in obtaining a TV transmitter is that a commercial units are expensive. However, we have some good news! You can build the TV Transmitter described here for less
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enough so that the unit will not interfere with other TV viewers who are nearby. To comply with FCC rules, it is mandatory the nearby TV viewers are not disturbed by the transmission. If your activities interfere with the reception from a licensed station, regardless of the reason, you must shut down your unit.
Circuit Description
Figure 1 is the schematic diagram of the TV Transmitter circuit. Video signals input at jack J1 are first terminated by resistor R6 and coupled through capacitor C1 to clamping-diode D1. The clamping forces the sync pulses to a fixed DC level to reduce blooming effects. Potentiometer R3 is used to set the gain of the video signal; its effect is similar to that of the contrast control on a TV set. Bias-control R7 can be used to adjust the black level of the picture so that some level of signal is transmitted, even for a totally dark picture. That way, a TV receiver can maintain proper sync. As we'll get to later, potentiometers R3 and R7 are cross adjusted for the best all-around performance. RF-transformer T1 and its internal capacitor form the tank circuit of a Hartley oscillator that's tuned to 4.5 megahertz. Audio signals input at J2 are coupled to the base of Q3 via C2 and R4: the audio signal modulates the base signal of Q3 to form an audio subcarrier that,s 4.5-megahertz higher than the video-carrier frequency. The FM modulated subcarrier is applied to the modulator section through C5 and R9. Resistor R9 adjusts the level of the subcarrier with respect to the video signal. Transistors Q1 and Q2 amplitude modulate the video and audio signals onto an RF-carrier signal. The operating frequency is set by coil L4, which is 3.5 turns of 24- gauge enameled wire on a form containing a standard ferrite slug.
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Fig. 1. The schematic shows how easy it is to hook up the TV Transmitter to other equipment. There is a video-input jack, J1; an audio-input jack, J2; and an external- antenna jack, J3. You could eliminate the latter because the unit works fine with just an |